One way to help them succeed? The Partnership for Public Service’s Excellence in Government Fellows Program – a staple of government leadership for more than 25 years that has reached over 5,000 senior federal leaders.
Every year, the Partnership selects a few hundred high performing GS14s and 15s for an intensive leadership program. The program is designed to help federal leaders develop the skillset they need in order to solve their agencies’ big problems. The course focuses on teaching leaders how to engage their employees, model a team and create a culture of innovation.
Tom Fox, Vice President for Leadership and Innovation at the Partnership for Public Service, told me the program has seen a large uptick in interest due to very restricted training budgets government wide.
“Fellows come to the Partnership for some pretty intense training and development opportunities. Each session is reflective of the best practices that we’ve identified in our research here at the Partnership,” said Fox. The 200+ Fellows all maintain their fulltime jobs, so the seven sessions are each only four days long.
The Fellowship includes lectures as well as hands-on trainings. Fellows are required to put theories into practice through actual learning projects. “Fellows work in teams to measurably improve government operations,” said Fox.
The Fellows have been able to actively make an impact during the course. “One of my favorite examples is a Fellowship group that worked with the State Department,” said Fox. “They created a program called Flex Connect. The State Department discovered they had trouble staffing emerging issues. For example, the State Department didn’t have nearly enough people dedicated to Ukraine. Flex Connect allows leaders online to alert folks across the department that they have an expertise shortage. If someone has that experience the system will make a match in very short order.”
Flex Connect started as a pilot during the Excellence in Government Fellows program. The program was so successful State Department implemented it department-wide.
Just like in school, fellows are assessed individually. They receive one-on-one executive coaching and mentoring. “Fellows get the opportunity to learn across cohorts, but also to specifically drill down into whatever their individual development needs they might have,” said Fox.
If you are interested in the Excellence in Government Fellows program you can apply now.